26Vudafieri-Saverino Partners, design firm based in Milan and Shanghai, designs four kindergartens in Shenzhen and Suzhou, focusing on the relationship between architecture and education
Vudafieri Saverino Partners’ project for Gymboree Play & Music, an American brand present in 40 countries with 700 centers, relies on the principle that educational spaces actively influence children’s education, favoring wellness and fostering learning. The spaces characterized by simple geometries, bright colors and special materials were inspired by children.
“We tried to interpret the environments through the eyes of children, creating a context that provided them with sensations rather than images, so as to leave them free to fly on the wings of their imagination. The imagination of children is pure and original: they see the world with the independence and creativity of their own thoughts. Imagination is more important than knowledge, since knowledge is limited, while imagination is the driving force behind progress and the source of the evolution of knowledge,” say architects Tiziano Vudafieri and Claudio Saverino.
Therefore the architecture firm designed spaces that spark their curiosity through shapes, colors and materials interpreting the theme of “travel”. Different areas reproduce different environments: the ocean, the forest, the desert, the Arctic, the canyon and outer space. Therefore, without leaving their classrooms, they are able to rest in the shade of a tree in the middle of the forest, immerse themselves underwater with tropical fishes, run up and down dunes in the desert.
Thanks to colors, shapes and geometries, immersive and highly experiential spaces become the tool to create the imaginary world that characterizes corridors, passageways, the reception, the café, the communal areas and the classrooms. The protagonists of this adventure are not only the children but also their parents, who are now able to develop their own creative potential with their children. [Text Laura Galimberti]
